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USSEC, INC / ASA-International Marketing / Pakistan (USSEC/ASM-IM/PK)
Annual Activity Report FY 2007

Organizational Status: De-registration of the American Soybean Association (ASA) was completed and registration of the U. S. Soybean Export Council, Inc (USSEC) in Pakistan was completed, with permission of the Board of Investment (BOI) and registration with the Security Exchange Corporation of Pakistan (SECP).  As agreed with the American Soybean Association in the United States, USSEC will continue to operate in all its overseas offices as ASA-International Marketing (above left logo).

In FY 07, the following projects were implemented in Pakistan.

PK: 3620: U.S. Soy Value Addition

In order to build preference for value added U.S. soy products, ASA-IM provided technical assistance and one-on-one consultations to a number of processed food manufacturers, nutraceutical, entrepreneurs, chefs of five star hotels, food technologists, and bread manufacturers.  ASA-IM collaborated with the Pakistan wheat flour milling industry and the bread and biscuits industry regarding incorporating U.S. defatted soy flour (DSF) in wheat milling and bakery products. A team of four food entrepreneurs, mainly bread manufacturers, were to have taken a customized course, “Soy with Baking”, in the United States, but in the event only one, Sheikh Javed Akhter, Director, M/s Ashrafi Foods-Karachi, was able to join (the remaining candidates did not get U.S. visas on time).  Following on the training, Mr. Javed resumed the import of containerized DSF from Cargill, Rapid Cedar, Iowa, a USSEC member.  During the US visit, Cargill provided a few samples of their newly developed special TSP (texturized soy protein) for use as a chicken meat analog.  Trials will be run at chicken meat processing plant/s to test the viability of this product in the Pakistan market.  In addition, other USSEC members were approached regarding expanding the market reach of their value enhanced soy products to Pakistan.   ASA-IM provided some assistance to The Solae Company, which began its operation Pakistan in May 2007; test trials of TSP and isolated soy proteins with different food processors are undergoing.  ASA-IM also provided a medium scale ice cream manufacturer with information regarding use of soy proteins, and this manufacturer has gotten promising laboratory results with skimmed milk replacer (a Solae product). The leading sausage manufacturing unit in Pakistan, Euro-Frankfurter, has already started using Solae’s ISP and, it is estimated, its annual consumption will touch 24 MT.  ASA-IM motivated traders to import tetra packed soymilk, although it is being imported from South Africa and Thailand (in containers) rather than from the United States. To make the availability of bean based soymilk and tofu, the first SoyCow™ machine was installed by Season Foods in Pakistan, with training support from ASA-IM (it is hoped that such an effort will lead to the import of U.S. food grade soybeans). Overall high tariff on soy product imports is a constraint to growing usage.

PK: 3616: Animal Feed Seminars

Pakistan is the fourth largest milk producing country in the world, and Karachi has the world’s largest para-urban dairy farming area; approximately 800,000 head are kept, mostly water buffaloes. In FY 07, ASA-IM focused on the promotion of soy usage in this sector by providing technical assistance to major feed manufacturers to start making pelleted dairy feed. Several seminars, workshops and one-to-one consultations were organized with local and dairy consultants from India.  Two poultry feed millers have started manufacturing pelleted dairy feeds, using soybean meal in their formulations, and a few farmers in Karachi – one having Asia’s largest cattle colony of 300,000 heads – have started using SBM in place of mycotoxin-contaminated cotton cake and bakery waste.  The response is creating general confidence among stakeholders about the quality of soy protein.  Marketing of U.S. hi-pro SBM continued with supported from USSEC members like Brushvale Seed, Minnesota and Knewtson Soy Products, LLP, Minnesota.  However, these efforts did not result in sales, primarily due to high freight costs.  During the year, ASA-IM also participated in international poultry conferences hosted by the Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA).

PK:3617: Dairy Feed Tech Tour

Five leading Pakistani famers and feed millers, including representatives from the Karachi Dairy Farmers’ Association (KDFA) and the Peshawar Dairy Farmers’ Association (PDFA), travelled to India to gain first hand knowledge about new feeding technologies and the utilization of soy in dairy ration. Site visits included a) a block feed manufacturing facility (Bhale) in Karnal, b) a block feed machinery manufacturing site in Delhi, c) an extruder manufacturing unit in Delhi,  and d) Warna Cooperative Milk in Kolhapur, a vertically integrated model cooperative.  Upon return, all the participants started using SBM in their formulations, and also have promoted the benefits of using soybean among other stakeholders.

PK: 3615: Soy Processing Support

This activity was initiated following the signing of a Memorandu of Understanding (MOU) between the U.S. Soybean Export Council, Inc and the Solvent Extractor Association of Pakistan (APSEA) in September 2007.  A U.S. advisor was supposed to have conducted on-site consultations with new and existing soy processors/solvent extraction plants operators to work on resolving production and marketing constraints in the use of U.S. soybeans.  However, due to a travel advisory, travel to Pakistan could not be arranged (this activity has been extended).  During FY07, two more solvent plants have been planned for construction near Port Qasim (Karachi area), which will have the largest total oilseed crushing capacity in Pakistan i.e., approx 2,500 MT per day (Pakistan’s total daily approximately crushing capacity is now around 4,500-5,000 MT per day).  This is an indication of the vibrancy of this sector.

R. Shahnawaz Janjua (Technical Director)
USSEC/ASA-IM/Pakistan
Mobile: 00 92 300 9212727
E-mail: asaascpk@cyber.net.pk